When to book cruise excursions?

Best time to book excursions for cruises

Just as with your cruise package itself the best timing to book your cruise excursions highly depends on what you are up to. Do you prefer guaranteed seats on your favorite excursion or are you looking for the best deal? Often it will be a mix.

The best time to book cruise line excursions

If you opt for a cruise line excursion and you know very well which one to choose, book as early as possible. You will have a guaranteed seat for a relatively good price. The longer you wait, the higher the price and the lower the availability. But if you change your mind later on you probably have to pay a cancellation fee. The fastest way to book your cruise excursions is shortly after you booked your cruise. In most cases you will get a notification from the cruise line. You can book shore excursions online on the cruise line’s website. Sometimes they offer shore excursion packages. However a lot of cruise passengers wait till the last moment to book their shore excursions. They are not sure yet about what to do, where to go. They wait for the weather conditions or are looking to find some new friends on board to join. Once your cruise holiday has started you can always book excursions on board. Near the reception you can find a shore excursion desk. During your cruise you will get lots of information and advertisements on shore excursions. In most cases you can book till noon the day before the actual starting date of the excursion.

The best time to book local excursions

You can book local excursions at local prices through ShoreBee. These local companies often run tours for smaller groups. Don’t wait too long to book if you want a guaranteed seat. Once your cruise holiday has started it will be more difficult to stay in contact with local companies. Internet and phone use onboard a cruise ship is expensive. The best time to book local excursions through ShoreBee is about 6 to 8 weeks before your cruise departure. But if you want to be very sure book as soon as you have made up your mind.